Bowie State 18, Elizabeth City State 14

A clutch defensive stop, and a ball-control offense that held the ball for 11 and a half minutes in the fourth quarter, helped the Bulldogs to an 18-14 win over the Vikings of Elizabeth City State University.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Vikings were driving towards the potential game-winning touchdown when Bulldogs' defensive lineman Bruce Banks came up big. He hit Vikings' running back Chris Jones at the three-yard line causing a fumble that popped into the end zone, where it was recovered by linebacker Harry Brunson. The Vikings would not make it out of their half of the field the rest of the game.

"I was able to throw my man aside and he (Jones) came right at me," said Banks. "I haven't had a big game this year and I felt like I owed the team," added Banks, who led the Bulldogs with nine tackles (four unassisted), two forced fumbles and a sack.

The win kept the Bulldogs (3-3 overall, 2-2-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) in the hunt for the Eastern Division title and a spot in the CIAA Championship game. The Bulldogs trail both Virginia Union and Virginia State University in the division as both are 2-1 in the CIAA thus far. The Bulldogs defeated Virginia Union and need help to get into a tie-breaker scenario with them. The Bulldogs have two tough conference games left; Homecoming on October 27 against Fayetteville State University and at Virginia State University on November 3.

The opportunistic Bulldogs took advantage of Vikings' miscues on special teams, and a trick play gave them the win.

The Bulldogs trailed 6-0 after Vikings' quarterback Michael Forbes snuck in from five yards out with 8:48 left in the first quarter, but the Vikings would let the Bulldogs come right back.

The Vikings forced the Bulldogs to punt on the ensuing possession, but fumbled the punt at their own 19 with Bulldogs' Nate Talley recovering. Two Caleb Cranke rushes and an offside penalty later, freshman Kelvin Collins ran it in for his fourth touchdown of the season from four yards out, tying the game at six at the 2:49 mark of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs would take their first lead of the game with 4:32 left in the half when receiver Darnell Jeffries took a lateral from quarterback Kernis Faison, then threw a 25-yard strike to fellow receiver Mike Bryant. Bryant's two-point conversion try was no good and the lead was 12-6.

The Vikings marched down the field and Conan Stevenson went in from four yards out with 1:41 to play in the half. Forbes hit tight end Greg Hale with the two-point conversion and the lead was 14-12.

The Bulldogs went three-and-out, giving the Vikings another shot at the end zone, but rookie linebacker Atcheson Conway set the tone for the rest of the game when he intercepted Forbes at the Bulldogs' three-yard line as the half expired.

The Bulldogs' defense surrendered 190 yards of offense and 14 points in the first half, but would pitch a shutout and limit the Vikings to 90 yards in the second half.

Conway would finish with six tackles, while Brunson, Chris Glass and Kendall Stewart would have five apiece.

The Vikings came out in the no-huddle offense and would not abandon it all game. Forbes was able to complete 18-45 passes for 169 yards with the one interception. The Bulldogs recorded just one sack, but kept the pressure on all day, knocking Forbes out of the game for a series in the second half.

The Bulldogs' offense, largely stymied in the third quarter, took the lead for good when sophomore running back Ian Greenlee took a screen pass and turned it into a 26-yard touchdown at the 4:52 mark of the third quarter. The Bulldogs' drive was set up when the Vikings had a punt go for negative two yards, putting the Bulldogs in Vikings territory.

Faison attempted 11 passes, completing three for 37 yards, and threw his first interception in three games. Cranke led the Bulldogs' rushing attack with 50 yards, carrying the ball eight of his 16 times in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs would keep the ball away from the Vikings.

Next up for the Bulldogs is Gannon University, who they will host next Saturday.

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